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Recording

Italian Sonatas 1730 – Remembering Naples and Venice

Sabrina Frey, Philippe Grisvard
59:05
TYXart TXA 21166

This is a spectacular recital by two of the great exponents of their instruments, recorder virtuoso Sabrina Frey and Philippe Grisvard a leading harpsichordist. Playing a selection of instruments, copies by Ernst Meyer of originals in F , G and D by Jakob Denner, and a lovely descant recorder by Andreas Schwob, Frey demonstrates her simply stunning technique, but also her unerring sense of phrasing and lyricism. This is a masterclass not only in recorder playing but also in musicianship. I am not sure I have ever heard such a clear and firm sound across the whole range of the recorder, even in rapidly moving passages. Frey’s uniformly rounded tone complements perfectly her complete mastery of her instruments, providing utterly persuasive accounts of these 18th-century Italian sonatas and sinfonias. Some are by familiar masters such as Giuseppe Sammartini, Antonio Vivaldi and Alessandro Scarlatti, while others are the work of more obscure composers of the period such as Ignazio Sieber, Giacomo (possibly Lodovico) Ferronati and Francesco Mancini – such is the depth of compositional talent in Italy in the 18th century that the work of these less familiar musicians is still wonderfully accomplished. One of the great joys of the CD is the interaction of these two superlative musicians – Phillipe Grisvard plays a copy by Markus Krebs of an original harpsichord of around 1700 by Michael Mietke which has a very full sound, but the balance is perfect throughout and the two performers move as one and with a shared concept of each piece. I loved this CD and have been inspired to head off to practise my recorders!

D. James Ross

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